Do you have a daily routine?

[TyraTooters]

I desperately need to set up a little daily/nightly routine! Not so much a schedule, but a routine to help make things move smoothly so our lessons actually get done, the house gets picked up, we have a little fun and we all get to unwind at night! LOL Is that possible? 

 

Right now I school the boys separately for their core subjects. While one is doing their math/phonics/reading/spelling the other one is trying to entertain their almost-two-year-old sister. And begging for iPad time. And a snack. And tv time. And, and, and, and...you get the idea. Our lessons are short and sweet so for the moment it's (sort of) working out to school them at different times. 

 

I just think things would actually get started, completed, and what not if we sort of had a plan of attack. Something simple. Such as; wake up, eat, get dressed....that kind of thing. Something where they could get used to the flow of things and know what to expect when. 

 

So, share with me, do you have a routine? If you do, what does it look like?

[Dory]

I put a paper on the side of my counter for each kid with the subjects put into lists under the days they are supposed to do them. Such as on Monday and Wednesday they would do Reading, writing, math, and so on.

 

Over time they have each found their routine of what happens when. We have always had a morning and evening routine and perhaps that made it easier for them to find a routine with the rest of it.

 

Mornings tend to be breakfast, get dressed, make bed, brush teeth and then the kids each take turns practicing piano while the other two head into their reading and math.

 

Quite honestly, if it wasn't for them being very routined (which is odd because my youngest is not a routine sort of guy) and for our lists on the side of the counters, there would be numerous days when no school would happen because I am often just too tired to make it happen lately. If a couple days like that happen back to back, my youngest falls out of his routine. It would take almost a week for my oldest ds to fall out of the routine and even then he would keep doing the basic morning and evening stuff because otherwise he feels stressed. My dd would continue to do her routine until she was literally forced to stop somehow.

[EndOfOrdinary]

My son has a specific order he likes to do school subjects. Change is not fun for him, nor are transitions, so we just go with his plan. Asterisked items are things done independently. They are set up so I can have a chunk of time to get all the life stuff done and still help instruct in areas he needs me.

 

First off, I cut all our lessons down to twenty minutes if not smaller. Twenty minutes of focused sustained work was doable before all pandemonium broke loose and we were sidetracked. Now the subjects stretch longer for math and reading, but not initially. If he wanted to continue we would, but no pushing came from me.

 

The subjects go in order like so:

Personal time for one hour before we start school (really important for behavior!)

 

*Watch Spanish video (Salsa!)

*Watch Latin video (Learning Latin with Virgil)

Total time 20ish minutes

 

Math (together while eating breakfast)

Spelling (Sequential Spelling)

Chemistry (*various videos or reading Apologia)

Total time 1.5 hours

 

Half hour Break

 

*Latin bookwork (Jenney's Latin)

*Spanish bookwork (Breaking the Barrier)

Writing (together)

History (*Veritas Hisory Cards, *various videos, reading Gardeners Art Through the Ages)

Total time 2 hours

 

Reading an hour before bed. Sometimes aloud with me, sometimes him independently.

 

That is everything we do each day. The times always ebb and flow differently, but we keep that list. It helps to have varying bits to do in certain subjects. Math and writing are set and scheduled. They do not change in what is to be done each day. However, Chemistry can be a short video and discussion (total ten to fifteen minutes) if math went long or 45 minutes of reading if math really seemed to click and we flew through it. History can be running through his timeline song twice (five or six minutes) or working with his history cards (ten minutes) if writing was disatrous and took forever. Breaking up the foriegn language also helped. If we do not get through the afternoon flashcards for Spanish all is not lost. If we miss bookwork for Latin one day because it is gorgeous and friends want to play at the park, no worries.

 

I try to have everything done by 1 or 2 so the afternoon is open for Ds to play or for us to go out and about. This also leaves lots of room if the day just goes horrifically.

[Ausmumof3]

Mine is pre 9am morning chores - beds, washing on, tidy rooms, feed pets, breakfast, baths and showers then tidy up the bathrooms.

9-12 is a block of school time which always follows the pattern of maths, handwriting, spelling or general writing and readers, then sonlight reading or other read alouds. During this time I switch out and hang washing and we might have a morning snack. 12 -1 is lunch and lunch cleanup. 1 is quiet time, sleep for youngest ds and video time or iPad time for kids. 2-3 we do a different subject each day, art, Italian, science experiments (theory is covered during the sonlight reading hour), music practice every day and fun going out afternoons. 3-4 is afternoon tea then my jobs of the day which are broken up into bill paying, grocery shopping, deep cleaning of one area, and an all over vacuum and mop. 4-5 is pickup, fold and put away washing then 5-6 is cooking - dinner and whatever snacks are for the next day. After tea and tea cleanup we go for a walk together, possibly do a bible story with the kids and then teeth and bed.

 

I had to make it mostly fun stuff after tea because I am hadit and anything else just won't get done. I tried to routine thing but for me if I don't have times I will get bogged down on one job and not get to the other stuff. I have perfectionist tendencies.

 

Wed things get switched around as we have music. Does it keep the house picked up? Well not totally but when I follow it things are definitely better. Of course we have days when life happens. I really struggle to get moving in the mornings too, if I can get up and get those morning jobs done it makes a huge difference.

[MEmama]

I wake up at 5:30 to get some quiet time in before the day starts. Shower, the DH wakes DS up at 7.

 

7: breakfast while watching CNN Student News

7:30: DS shower and morning primping

8:30ish: time for table work. He always starts with math--his favorite

After math, spelling and writing. Then a snack break.

11ish: history

12ish: lunch

1ish: science

After science, we are usually done with the school day.

2 or 3ish: go for a run together, or after school sports.

 

Nothing is written in stone, but DS likes routine and to know what to expect next. This is his schedule-- it's what works best for him-- so it tends to be really smooth and effortless. I'm just along for the ride. :)

[Sherry in OH]

On days we are staying home:

Boys play until 9 am.  At 9, they have breakfast, followed by grooming and dressing.  They listen to their piano CD while eating.

 

Ds1 dawdles.  Ds2 practices piano while we wait for him. As soon as ds1 is ready we move to the sofa for read aloud and reading.  I read selected works, currently astronomy related, for 30 minutes, sometimes longer.  Ds2 and I buddy read a chapter of his book, then he goes off to do his own thing for 10 or 15 minutes while Ds1 and I buddy read from his book.

 

We move to the table for seatwork.  Civics is done together.  Then ds2 works on independent work while ds1 does math and part of language arts with me.  Ds1 takes a short break while I check ds2’s independent work.  Ds1 starts his independent work, I continue working with ds2.  Ds2 goes to play while ds1 finishes his work.  Once seatwork is finished, they have free time until lunch.   

 

I usually eat my lunch while the boys are playing.  I read from our current literature selection while they eat.  After lunch, ds1 practices piano.  Ds2 often plays a few songs as well.  Piano is followed by afternoon lessons. These include Latin (2-3 days a week) and some combination of music, art, and science projects/activities.  Sometimes we watch video clips or go for a walk.  

 

We nearly always finish schoolwork by 3 pm, usually earlier.  Screen time is after 4 pm and is behavior dependent.   Days with outside commitments vary considerably. 

 

[73349]

DS eats breakfast and plays while I shower, start the laundry, unload the dishwasher, etc. He often practices piano then as well.

 

Then he brushes his teeth, dresses, and makes his bed and I get out anything we need for school.

 

We have school, lunch, errands/piano lesson/park day/field trip. Then it's quiet time (90 minutes, usually ~2-3:30, in his room and unplugged except for the occasional audiobook).

 

After quiet time, he practices piano if he didn't already. We may do some more housework or spend time with friends. Then he usually watches a show and I make dinner.

 

After dinner, he plays with DH and then goes  upstairs for shower and bed.

[wendyroo]

How old are your kids?

 

My kids are still young, so take this with a grain of salt.

 

This is our general routine:

5am - I get up, get ready, tidy the master bedroom and bathroom, throw in a load of laundry and try to cross one small chore off my list for the day.  Then I sit down and eat my breakfast in front of my computer and have some time to myself.  A few minutes before 7 I get the kids' breakfast ready.

 

7am - the kids wake up

8am - our goal (which we hit about 75% of the time) is for the kids to be fed and dressed with teeth brushed and after meal chores done by 8am.

8am - 9am - play time.  I encourage the kids to go outside or play on our basement climber to burn some energy.  I do not allow screens during this time.

 

9am - The 15 month old goes up for his morning nap and the older boys and I spend 60-75 minutes doing all our subjects except math.  About 20 minutes of that is academic table work and the rest is read alouds, art and games (the 3 year old normally joins us, but he is also welcome to go play if he wants).

Note: When the 15 month old drops his morning nap, then he will play by himself in his room during this time.  All of my kids have a quiet play time in their rooms every day.

 

10:15ish - Spencer is up from his nap and the boys have a small snack.

10:30 - 12 - Three days a week we have to leave during this time for speech therapy or allergy shots.  The other two days we might go to the park or the Y or on a errand or just have more free play.

 

12 - lunch while watching an educational show (Spanish, Bill Nye, Leap Frog, etc.)

1pm - Older boys go up to their rooms to start their quiet play time.  I spend 30 minutes playing one-on-one with the 15 month old and put him down for his nap at 1:30.

1:30 - I pop into one of the older boys' rooms and do his math with him.  We keep all their math books, manipulatives, small white boards, etc. in their rooms.  Normally I spend 10ish minutes teaching the 5 year old a lesson and leave him working on workbook problems while I go over and spend 10ish minutes with the 3 year old and then I go back to check the 5 year old's work and discuss any problems.

 

2pm - 3pm - I finish the rest of my chore list for the day and take a break.

3 - 3:30 - The boys wake up/clean up and have a snack.

3:30 - 5 - Free play or errand.

5pm - dinner

6pm - two nights a week the boys have sports/swimming classes at the Y, another day they play at the Y KidZone while I do an exercise class.  The other nights we have time for a family walk or game time.

7 - 7:30 - the boys are all in bed.

7:30 - 9:30 - DH and I do the last bit of tidying and relax

 

Wendy

 

[WistfulRidge]

I have all littles at this point but we are a very routine/schedule orientated family.

 

DH gets up, feeds the cats, and leaves for work by 5:15.

 

Kids (usually DS1 but sometimes DS2) get me up around 7. They get to snuggle on the couch and watch an episode of a show while I wake up. My oldest is a morning person like is dad... the rest of us are not. DS3 will wake up anytime between 7 and 8, usually around 7:30.

 

Around 7:30 we make and eat breakfast.

 

8 to 9 is get dressed and do chores.

 

We aim to start school at 9am but realistically that only happens about 50% of the time. Usually it's a little closer to 9:30. Seatwork (reading/phonics, handwriting, and math) take us about 30 to 45 minutes to do with DS1. DS2 likes to play around on starfall for at least a portion of this time (DS3 is usually playing nearby or likes to sit with his brother and play along on the computer).

 

By 10 we're usually done with school so, pending weather, they all go outside or do some sort of "contained" activity (like playdough or painting) while I do some more chores/putter about. I usually read to them during this time too.

 

Lunch is between 11:30 and Noon. Then clean up. They usually get to watch another episode of something or part of a movie to initiate "calm down mode".

 

Pending on how everyone is doing they go down for mandatory rest time between 12:30 and 1. They are required to stay in rest time until 3. DS1 usually draws, reads, plays with legos, and/or plays on the kindle. DS2 naps 50% of the time, the rest of the time he plays quietly in his room. DS3 naps - and is usually down until 3:30 or 4.

 

After rest time I prefer if they go outside and run off energy but the weather is nasty then we usually play games, draw pictures, read etc inside.

 

DH gets home between 4 and 4:30 so then they play with Daddy while I make dinner, which we usually have around 5:30. Cleanup to follow. Bedtime stories and baths start at 6:45 and everyone gets tucked into bed around 7:30 pm.

 

On Wednesdays we do our weekly shopping in the morning so instead of school we absolutely must be out of the house and on our way by 9 so that we have time to get it all done before the lunchtime. We listen to audiobooks in the car (currently The Magician's Nephew) and get about 40-45 minutes of that in, pending traffic. The rest of the day is virtually the same. 

 

[TyraTooters]

How old are your kids?

 

 

 

My boys are (just turned) 6 amd 7 (8 in March) and then a little one who will be 2 in January. The two year old is a mess and has to be with me or one if the buys at all times. They don't really know how to play with her yet because she doesn't really play. If they are at th table doing school she wants to be right there with them. Not in her seat doing something, but ON the table marking in their things, climbing on them and so on. The six year old NEEDS to be occupied or he will get into things or bother me a million times. He doesn't play well with baby sister because he annoys her. All the 7 year old wants to do is play on electronics. Which is limited, but he doesn't get it. And the baby only takes a 30-45 minute nap. I cannot get her to sleep any longer. I'm working on teaching the boys how o play nicely together because they last about five minutes and it's over. Or someone is hurt. Or someone wants to quit playing because the other made them mad.

 

I gotta do something!

[wendyroo]

My boys are (just turned) 6 amd 7 (8 in March) and then a little one who will be 2 in January. The two year old is a mess and has to be with me or one if the buys at all times. They don't really know how to play with her yet because she doesn't really play. If they are at th table doing school she wants to be right there with them. Not in her seat doing something, but ON the table marking in their things, climbing on them and so on. The six year old NEEDS to be occupied or he will get into things or bother me a million times. He doesn't play well with baby sister because he annoys her. All the 7 year old wants to do is play on electronics. Which is limited, but he doesn't get it. And the baby only takes a 30-45 minute nap. I cannot get her to sleep any longer. I'm working on teaching the boys how o play nicely together because they last about five minutes and it's over. Or someone is hurt. Or someone wants to quit playing because the other made them mad.

 

I gotta do something!

 

How much sleep is your 2 year old getting at night?  Counter-intuitively, if one of my toddlers isn't getting enough sleep at night, they also start to have a hard time napping well.  For my kids, sleep really does beget sleep.  One of my kids actually took two naps until he was 22 months old, and then transitioned to one 2.5 hour nap and 12ish hours of nighttime sleep.  My eldest didn't sleep quite as much, but when he was around 2 he still took a 2ish hour nap and slept 11-11.5 hours at night.

 

None of my kids came to me naturally knowing how to play by himself, but with slow, consistent practice, they have all learned to enjoy having time to themselves.  I thoroughly child-proof their rooms, let them choose which (acceptable) toys they want up there, play music or audio books if they want and ignore minor grumbling.  Right now my 15 month old plays by himself (in his Pack and Play) for 30 minutes each day.  This will increase to an hour by the time he drops his morning nap and then two hours when he is 4ish and ready to drop his afternoon nap.

 

Wendy

[Slache]

My husband and I each have 15 minute nightly lists to prepare for the next day including one laundry rotation, emptying the dishwasher which gets run at dinner, picking up every surface and wiping it down, packing lunch(es), and having the kids pick up their stuff. Our individual lists are on cards that we can carry around.

[Desert Strawberry]

We are flexible, because of little ones and pregnancy, but yes, we have a routine. 

 

We wake up. Get dressed, brush teeth, make beds. Morning chores (let the dog out, put away clothes and dishes from last night, feed the dog)
 

Eat breakfast. 

 

Start independent school work. Each child-except the 3yo-has at least a couple of things he can do on his own. 3yo has special school time toys, or he can play by himself in the playroom or bedroom. 

I shower, dress, eat, have coffee, wash breakfast dishes, put away toddler clothes at this time. 

 

I pull one kid at a time for work with me. Kindy kid is doing computer learning games, so I set him up with that. We do a lot of read alouds. This might be a time for one of those. 6th grader needs to consult with me on writing and other projects. We can do this now. 3rd grader does computer work in here some time if needed. 

As they finish, they go outside to play. 

I make lunch. I feed them outside, and let them have a bit more time, or I call the little ones in, bathe them, put them in jammies, feed everyone. Now we do any extra read alouds. 

Naptime. We have story time. All together, just the little ones, just the big ones, or the bottom three, depending on what it is. Anyone not in story time has free indoor playtime, bath, finishes up school work, or starts evening chores. Little ones and I lay down together for a nap in the big bed. 
This is a catch all time for the older kids to do whatever they need to do. Little ones sleep for a good couple of hours. They can get a lot done, and also have time to play a board game, go back outside, take the dog for a run in the woods, read, or whatever they feel like doing. Limitations-no electronics, besides computer school work, possibly learning games, no one interrupts nap time-on pain of death. 

 

I get up while the little ones are still asleep. I finish up any chores that need to be done, start dinner, look over school work if necessary, assign extra chores if needed, start a grown up project-I'm recovering a chair right now. 

 

Little ones wake up in time for dinner. Play quietly with Legos, or draw or read or whatever. 

Daddy comes home. 

We have dinner. 

Little boys get ready for bed, spend some quality time with dad, big kids finish chores, dad and I check chores. They watch a show, play a video game, or whatever he wants to do with them. I take a break. 

Bedtime. Big kids can read in bed, little ones crash out. 

D has alone time, I do wrap up work-dinner dishes, fold laundry, wipe things down, sweep floors, work on my project. House is ready for the next morning. 

 

 

[TyraTooters]

How much sleep is your 2 year old getting at night? Counter-intuitively, if one of my toddlers isn't getting enough sleep at night, they also start to have a hard time napping well. For my kids, sleep really does beget sleep. One of my kids actually took two naps until he was 22 months old, and then transitioned to one 2.5 hour nap and 12ish hours of nighttime sleep. My eldest didn't sleep quite as much, but when he was around 2 he still took a 2ish hour nap and slept 11-11.5 hours at night.

 

None of my kids came to me naturally knowing how to play by himself, but with slow, consistent practice, they have all learned to enjoy having time to themselves. I thoroughly child-proof their rooms, let them choose which (acceptable) toys they want up there, play music or audio books if they want and ignore minor grumbling. Right now my 15 month old plays by himself (in his Pack and Play) for 30 minutes each day. This will increase to an hour by the time he drops his morning nap and then two hours when he is 4ish and ready to drop his afternoon nap.

 

Wendy

She sleeps with us (was sleeping in her bed but then suddenly went back to sleeping in our bed) and goes to bed around 8pm and gets up between 7-8am. She hates the pack n play, always has, but I really should bust it out again and make her learn to deal with it! LOL maybe after several (hundred!) tries she will eventually quit screaming while in there. All three kids share a room and all toys are toddler friendly, well except the small Legos when her brothers aren't in there with her. The six year old still takes a nap from time to time at the same time as his sister, but not always. If he doesn't nap he watches a documentary and he's not allowed to come out until it's over. The six year old doesn't know how to do quiet time for more than a few minutes. It's so frustrating. I'm going to start working on their quiet time and things they can do during that time.

[kristin0713]

I do not allow TV or iPad or any other screen time during school hours.  It would ruin our school day, seriously.  I know this sounds hard-core but in your situation I would do an electronic detox so that it is not an option and eventually they will learn to occupy themselves with other things and probably play together better.  When does the 2yo nap?  I would school the boys together, do the most important work when the 2yo is asleep (math, phonics, and spelling IMO) and try to include the baby for read-alouds.  Work on mandatory reading/resting for the boys, in their own space (one in your room, one in the living room??)  I think that reading/resting time is so important and will do wonders for your sanity if you can stick with it.  It gives you a break and teaches them to deal with down time alone.  We instituted reading/resting as soon as they dropped naps and I think it was actually one of the best "schooling" decisions I ever made.  I say "schooling" because there were many days when I would not have made it through the school day if I didn't have that hour.  You said the 6yo needs to be occupied--I would work hard to change this.  Give him some options but don't run your day around entertaining him.  RR was not a time that I would come up with a million options for them to do--their options were, "read/rest/quiet play in your room alone and don't bother me unless you are injured or puking!"  Now that we are doing a lot more work during the school day, I have moved reading/resting to before bed so they have an hour to read and wind down before bed. 

 

Here is our routine, not sure if this will help. 

 

I get up at 5:30/6 before my family. 

 

Kids get up between 7-7:30.  They must have morning "jobs" done before they can eat breakfast--get dressed, no clothes/pj's on the floor, make bed, brush teeth, brush hair. 

 

8/9ish to lunch:

When we're done with breakfast we do Bible first.  Then I send DD (8) to do independent work, which is usually reading, language arts, and handwriting while I work with DS (6) on reading, spelling, and math.  If DD finishes early I have her read more, or give her independent math work.  Then when I'm done with DS, I do spelling dictation and math with DD.  We break for a mid-morning snack and aim to have our basics done by lunch.  By basics, I mean spelling, reading, math, and piano practice; sometimes writing journal or another writing activity.

 

After lunch, I send them outside for up to an hour.  Then until 2-3, we do literature read-alouds, history or science work and CC memory work. 

 

Thursdays, we have Classical Conversations and choir in the afternoon so that is a day off school work.

 

We rarely go past 3 with school work.  They play until dinner or we do something with friends.  After dinner, on rare occasions they can watch a show (usually this is if DH is traveling).  7pm they are in their rooms for reading/resting and 8pm is lights out.

[Tanikit]

We have a routine though it is very flexible and does not necessarily go according to times of the day - in winter we rise much later and bath the kids earlier, I work out the house when called to do so which varies greatly and is usually mornings only though even this can vary so I need to be adaptable. And then my kids rise at different times (not one child early and one late - just both of them sleeping til they are awake which can vary by 2-3 hours on any particular day)

 

So our routine is: get up(any time from 06:00 to 08:30), I shower and dress and then make sure the kids are dressed (my 3 year old still needs some help) and then we have breakfast.

                          :We start school - I put the subject that is on my priority list first - at the moment this is Bible followed immediately by a second language

                          : At some point about 2 hours before lunch we have a snack and try to get everyone outside for a bit depending on the weather

                          : School moves back and forth between the two kids with one always playing or coloring. Because there are only two of them I have to add in play time where they can play together too even though they do this all afternoon - it just feels right to have some of this time during school too.

                          : We break for lunch between 12 and 1 though even this can vary, have an hour break to rest or play and then finish up anything we haven't got to (if school starts early enough there will not be anything after lunch.)

 

On the days I work I need time when I get home to have lunch and just rest a bit and then we do only 1-2 school related things (so not all of LA - maybe just spelling or just writing and then some Math but again on a lighter schedule.

 

The order of the subjects except for the ones I specifically keep first can vary greatly and will depend on my child's mood, sometimes I let her choose what is next and sometimes it will depend on how the two children are getting on that day.

 

The begging drives me nuts - for food, games, for me to print pictures off the computer for them both to color, for the tablet, movies, a chance to swim, wanting to go and visit their friends or anything else they can think up. I usually set very strict limits on those things - school must be finished, snack time will be..., you can swim when... and so on. 

               

I clean the house in the late afternoon usually and even laundry can actually get done then - by then the kids are usually playing together and are slightly less demanding IF I have remembered the afternoon snack. If things are not going so well then I may put on a movie for them at this time or let them play computer games.

 

I cannot work to a strict routine. I find just knowing what needs to be done means it gets done especially if it is the same sort of thing (add extras and then it can be a problem).

 

DH comes home (this also varies tremendously), we have supper (usually around 18:00) and then I read to the children and get them to bed around 20:00.

[Ausmumof3]

It sounds like the two year old is the biggest problem during school time. Mine was as well up until recently. He is closer to three and is slowly getting better.

 

I find it helpful to have out some Montessori style activities during school time. Rice pouring, number matching, drawing in flour. I also try to give him a themed thing that ties in with the others work. As a last resort we use the iPad to babysit while I teach.

[Coco_Clark]

Our routine is loose but with a few hard stops. The hard stops are key for us to make sure looseness doesn't turn into lunch at 4pm. I have alarms to tell us when we've reached a hard stop and they are signified here by listing a time.

 

7:00 I wake up

 

I drink coffee, get ready. Kids all wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, play.

 

9:00 prayers

 

Morning time, morning chores, ds6 table work then ds5 table work (whoevers not working plays with ds2), play time.

 

12:30 lunch

 

Ds2s nap, afternoon subjects, independent work, playtime. Once all independent work- a math facts sheet and private reading- is finished screen time is allowed. It's not before this time, so they don't ask.

 

5:00 afternoon chores. I start dinner.

[TyraTooters]

It sounds like the two year old is the biggest problem during school time. Mine was as well up until recently. He is closer to three and is slowly getting better.

 

I find it helpful to have out some Montessori style activities during school time. Rice pouring, number matching, drawing in flour. I also try to give him a themed thing that ties in with the others work. As a last resort we use the iPad to babysit while I teach.

Pretty much!

[Coco_Clark]

Reading your replies I'm not sure what you need is a schedule so much as some concentrated time working on independance and family relationships. I would start requiring a quiet time for the 6 yr old. A 6 year old, barring special circumstances, really should be able to be quiet for an hour. I would also begin severe consequences for fighting. They don't need to adore each other, but they need to be able to get along.  And it would be nice to teach them how to play with the baby as well, just for a 15-20 minutes "break" for you.  Can they sing nursury rhymes?  Play peekaboo?  Roll a ball?

[TyraTooters]

Reading your replies I'm not sure what you need is a schedule so much as some concentrated time working on independance and family relationships. I would start requiring a quiet time for the 6 yr old. A 6 year old, barring special circumstances, really should be able to be quiet for an hour. I would also begin severe consequences for fighting. They don't need to adore each other, but they need to be able to get along. And it would be nice to teach them how to play with the baby as well, just for a 15-20 minutes "break" for you. Can they sing nursury rhymes? Play peekaboo? Roll a ball?

I agree! Thinking of discipline for the hitting now. I think it's also because there's too much free play. Too much of me telling term just to go play while I do other things. I don't have to entertain them all day, but maybe some direction.

[Coco_Clark]

When my kids go through stages of fighting I often find it helps if I take a few days to be in the same room with them during free play.  It's hard, because it leaves very very little time to get things done.  But I'd sit and knit, or sit and read, or sit and lesson plan (you get the idea) in the room they are playing in.  When I had to do something, like dishes, I made them move with me.  My presence kept name-calling and other forms of baiting to a minimum and I was there to intervene immediately when tempers started to rise.  

Then after a few days (when hopefully a few new habits have formed) I'd wait until they were engaged in something and throw out a "Well, I have quite a few chores to do, I suppose we all have to put this away and go to the kitchen now...unless you can you play by yourselves in here?" and then when/if the fighting started "Its too bad you can't play nicely without me.  I guess you have to come help me clean." and give them chores to do in the same room as me.  

I agree some direction may also help though.  Boredom often results in short tempers.  

[Mystie]

Here's a narrative I wrote about our routines, acknowledging the real-life version and not just the on-paper version (the two are never the same with 5 kids 10-and-under)

 

Managing Chaos: When Routines Meet Real Life

 

That was at the end of our last school year in the spring. I should do a new version for this school year. :)

[Tawlas]

I could write a huge big response on our daily routine, our school days roll really well. But as far as getting the little daily things done we have a 30-45 minute block of family chores between breakfast and school. Kids make their beds, brush teeth and hair and get dressed, then they all have chores that help the whole house (not just themselves). They each have a part of the dishwasher to unload, and they rotate weekly on who hauls and sorts laundry downstairs, who feed and waters the chickens and who vacuums the dining room.

 

After school and lunch I kick them outside and out the toddler to sleep - usually around 100. I then pick up the morning mess (mostly toddler distractions and mischief), take some personal time, do a bit of school-related chores and/or planning while it's fresh in my mind, then my own Latin. Now the weather is colder, the kids come in around 230 for a snack, then play downstairs in the playroom for a while. once the toddlers awake, I do some cleaning (Sun is vacuum downstairs, Mon is vacuum upstairs, Tues and Thurs we're in town for activities, Frid and Sat are for whatever needs doing: paperwork, bathtubs, mass baking or freezer meals, seasonal work etc). Toddler either plays with big kids or â€helps". Quiet time for the big kids starts around 3 or 330 depending on well they play together. They all go to a separate room and pursue some kind of quiet activity.

 

So then the second family chore time is at 430. Kids mostly pick up downstairs, their area (playroom, bedrooms, bathroom hallway, and mudroom in the winter or deck in the summer). I supervise otherwise it all crumbles into bickering over who has done the most mess making or the most tidying. They are allowed screen time at 5. That's it, they know it (except sometimes on weekends we watch a science or Histiry documentary). I prep supper or fold and put away the day's worth of laundry in the family closet (partner and I share supper duties). Laundry is, ideally, done all day. I try and use snack and meal times to remind me to switch loads around. Again, the toddler 'helps'. Supper is at 6ish.

 

630 is when baths start. We rotate 'girls night' and 'boys night' for baths. While kids are in the tub or otherwise getting ready for bed, I tidy my office or wipe down bathroom surfaces (partner cleans kitchen). Then i read ï¸Bedtime stories, then Dh goes in to say good night. I use that time to whip around the house upstairs and pick up stray items and toddler toys and mischief.

[TyraTooters]

Here's a narrative I wrote about our routines, acknowledging the real-life version and not just the on-paper version (the two are never the same with 5 kids 10-and-under)

 

Managing Chaos: When Routines Meet Real Life

 

That was at the end of our last school year in the spring. I should do a new version for this school year. :)

Hey that looks like my kind of day!

[HS Mom in NC]

Screen Time

Not only do we not allow screen time and electronics during school hours (with the exception of the typing tutor computer program lessons)  there are consequences for bugging mom about it during school hours.  Since the answer is, and has always been,  "No, we don't use electronics during school hours. Don't ask me again." pestering me is akin to disobedience.  If my kid nags me about electronics during school hours she loses them entirely for the rest of the day. If she does it again she loses them for the whole next day in addition.  A third time means no electronics for a week. This has only happened a few times because yes, I do have a kid that has that kind of determination.

 

Toddlers/Preschoolers

 

There are lots of old threads here that cover homeschooling with lots of littles and multiple ages. Look into them.

When I was schooling 3, (my older two are 7 and 9 years older than my youngest)  I had a mat and special toys that rotated daily for the baby/toddle/preschooler in the same room with the older two while I did something aloud with them or got one started and worked with the other. It took a lot of work to teach the youngest to stay on the mat (which was pretty big) by returning her again and again. She had a snack and a sippy cup too.

We don't school at the dinning room or kitchen table, we scatter all over the house, but if I did school at the table I'd put the toddler in a high chair that has a restraint strap around the child's waist and giver her something to do while I work with the others at the table. It would probably be a snack and drink first to keep her occupied and once that played out I'd have a couple of other things ready to go.

I'm not a workbooky kind of homeschooler most of the time, but finding a colorful one that's really inexpensive and giving it to the two year old to scribble on with her own special school washable markers or crayons can buy you time and make her feel included.  Magnetic versions of paper dolls can be fun.  Construction toys for littles can keep them busy for a while as you instruct older kids. A special baby doll with special simple accessories is a quieter activity during school time too.

Is there a play area your two year old can be in on her own for short periods of time? Is there a playroom or her bedroom where she can be sent to play or listen to special kid's music and play while you do a 15-20 minute lesson with one or both of the older kids? I'm not talking about isolating her for hours or all day, I'm talking about a couple of times a day for a short period of time giving her a chance to entertain herself with her regular toys.  As soon as you're done with that 15-20 minute session you can give her some one on one time while your older kids are learning to work independently for a while. If she's not used to doing that, you can expect to have to send her back in many times until she gets the hang of it.

 

We do a lot of reading aloud of living books in our homeschool.  That includes a lot of wonderful children's picture books.  (Excellent writing and vocabulary , interesting ideas/themes that reinforce and review history and wonderful art work make a child's book wonderful.)  Children of all ages can be included for that and that has value for all of them. If you're not doing it, consider starting. Many toddlers have to be taught to be quiet while mommy reads the book, but they can learn while sitting in her lap and looking at the pictures.

 

Routines

 

I think they're essential to most smooth running homeschools. When I use the word chore, I mean a task that's completed on a regular basis for maintaining a person or a home so I'm not listing getting dressed and brushing teeth as separate from household chores. Those are self care chores. I assume breakfast and clean up are part of morning chores.  Meal chores assume food prep, cooking and cleaning up anything related to the meal.

People tend to follow roughly one of these formats:

 

1. Short and More Frequent Chores Every Day
 

Morning Chores

School

Lunch/early afternoon chores

School

Afternoon Chores

freetime/ extracurriculars

Evening/dinner chores

free time/family time

bedtime chores

bed

 

2. Longer and Less Frequent Chores Every Day

 

Morning Chores

school

Lunch chores

school

afternoon chores

free time/extra curriculars

Dinner chores

 

3. Very Long Chores on Weekends

 

During the week:

Morning chores

school

minimal chores in the afternoon or evening

Lots of chores on the weekends

 

If what you're doing isn't working about 80% of the time, it's time to consider a different routine.

[Tawlas]

Here's a narrative I wrote about our routines, acknowledging the real-life version and not just the on-paper version (the two are never the same with 5 kids 10-and-under)

 

Managing Chaos: When Routines Meet Real Life

 

That was at the end of our last school year in the spring. I should do a new version for this school year. :)

I love this post! I love the honesty! I see a lot of my day in yours and the before-pick-up kitchen photo is eerily familiar as well. Thank you :)

[SereneHome]

I love love LOVE this thread!!!

 

I wish I knew how to print it out as one long narrative!

[Sahamamama]

Coffee

More coffee

Breakfast

 

Chores

More chores

Showers

 

School

More school

Lunch

 

School

More school (or not)

Nap (not every day) OR Outdoors (sadly, not every day)

 

Evening routine (varies)

Supper

Clean up

 

Rabbits

Ready for bed

Bed

[LindaOz]

Our basic routine currently is:

 

Up/showers/dress

Pre-breakfast chores - there is a list on the fridge with 7 chores, everyone does one.

BREAKFAST - 7:30ish

Breakfast cleanup.

 

Meet in lounge room for Family Time. Includes Bible Time, discussion, singing (we do part-singing etc), read alouds.

Outside time - walk, ball games, ride bikes, scooters etc.

 

SCHOOL - individual work, maths, spelling, English work, writing. I read to littles, or they play/color/do phonics activities etc.

 

LUNCH - 12ish while watching a DVD. We are working our way through the Little House series at the moment.

SCHOOL - Read Aloud, poetry, music

Cleanup

 

QUIET TIME - READ. I read with littles and put them to bed.

SCHOOL - lesson time while littles are asleep: history, science etc.

Free time

 

5ish. Pre-dinner chores

DINNER

Sometimes family read aloud or tv or other activity.

Baths/showers, bed.

 

I make sure I wash up any dirty dishes still hanging around before I go to bed so that it's a fresh start in the morning and I put on a load of laundry before bed so I have a head start. These two things make a big difference to my day.

[SereneHome]

Sorry for hi-jacking, but I am curious - if you don't wake up before your kids - when do you get your "me" time? 

[73349]

Sorry for hi-jacking, but I am curious - if you don't wake up before your kids - when do you get your "me" time? 

 

During quiet time, after he's in bed, or on the weekend when Daddy's home. DS often wakes up earlier in the morning than I want to try to beat, and will wake up even earlier if the shower's running, etc.

 

Starting quiet time when DS turned 4 was perhaps the best parenting choice I've ever made. For those who want to start, I recommend 30 minutes' duration, newly rotated toys/books, and a reward at the end. Gradually extend the time and withdraw the reward over several months. Eventually you can have an hour and a half or even two hours of built-in down time for everyone.

[TyraTooters]

My 'me time' comes at night. I'm a night owl. I really need to become a morning person. We've slowly been working on a (loose) routine. It seems to be working. I'm just jotting down time frames and things we do around those times. Working in lessons at certain times. This might work. So far the hardest is quiet time with the 7 year old. He thinks he needs me all the time. He refuses to read, play Legos, anything. Basically he's just mad because he can't play on the iPad, watch tv, or have a snack during this time. What's funny, is that he never got to play on the iPad or watch tv when his sister napped before. Not sure why he thinks he can now. He has refused every idea I've thrown his way. So for now he just sits on the couch and pouts, has a little fit, and tries to get my attention. For the time being I'm using this time to fold laundry, do some playing on the computer, or my own rest time. It probably doesn't help that we are in the same room.

[SamanthaCarter]

Working on it. Haven't landed on anything consistently workable yet. I've been struggling trying to make morning meeting work. It really doesn't, I've found over the last week or so that we get more momentum sooner if I just have the 3rd grader go ahead and dive into his work right away and once he's really going, do the kindergarteners work with her. So over the last two days we've done our "morning meeting" at 3:30 with tea and cookies. I think everybody's happier that way. We usually have enough done when we leave to go to the YMCA for mom/dad lunch break workout (T/TH) or YMCA gym class (W). Enough that I'm not freaked out. 

 

I would love to have a routine like some of these previous posters. I just don't think I have the self discipline to ever make it work, nor kids with the type of temperament for one day to really resemble the next on an hour by hour basis. 

 

I'm a serious work in progress. 

[SereneHome]

Working on it. Haven't landed on anything consistently workable yet. I've been struggling trying to make morning meeting work. It really doesn't, I've found over the last week or so that we get more momentum sooner if I just have the 3rd grader go ahead and dive into his work right away and once he's really going, do the kindergarteners work with her. So over the last two days we've done our "morning meeting" at 3:30 with tea and cookies. I think everybody's happier that way. We usually have enough done when we leave to go to the YMCA for mom/dad lunch break workout (T/TH) or YMCA gym class (W). Enough that I'm not freaked out. 

 

I would love to have a routine like some of these previous posters. I just don't think I have the self discipline to ever make it work, nor kids with the type of temperament for one day to really resemble the next on an hour by hour basis. 

 

I'm a serious work in progress. 

 

This is EXACTLY my problem as well :(

 

I have such hard time getting up in the mornings, that it starts the day very......loose and without any kind of direction. :(

 

[Ausmumof3]

I have those days as well. It always looks better on paper than in real life. Today is one of those days as I'm trying to recuperate from a crazy busy weekend.

[Ausmumof3]

When my kids go through stages of fighting I often find it helps if I take a few days to be in the same room with them during free play. It's hard, because it leaves very very little time to get things done. But I'd sit and knit, or sit and read, or sit and lesson plan (you get the idea) in the room they are playing in. When I had to do something, like dishes, I made them move with me. My presence kept name-calling and other forms of baiting to a minimum and I was there to intervene immediately when tempers started to rise.

 

Then after a few days (when hopefully a few new habits have formed) I'd wait until they were engaged in something and throw out a "Well, I have quite a few chores to do, I suppose we all have to put this away and go to the kitchen now...unless you can you play by yourselves in here?" and then when/if the fighting started "Its too bad you can't play nicely without me. I guess you have to come help me clean." and give them chores to do in the same room as me.

 

I agree some direction may also help though. Boredom often results in short tempers.

This is what we do too. It's exhausting but it works.

[wehave8]

Edited...chart wouldn't post right.

[SeaConquest]

We homeschool 3 days per week (T, F, and Sun) and my son takes classes at his charter school 3 days per week (M, W, TH). On the days that we homeschool, it looks something like this:

 

7-9 Wake up, breakfast, showers, free play/tablet

9-10 Math and Logic

10-11 Reading and Writing

11-12 History, Hebrew, or Latin

12-2 Lunch and free play

2-3 Science

3-6 Extracurriculars (sports, performing arts, etc.)

6-8 Dinner and play

8-9 Free reading